Milosevic
to stand trial for alleged Kosovo crimes early next year: UN Tribunal
30 October – Former President Slobodan
Milosevic will go on trial early next year for crimes allegedly
committed in 1999 in Kosovo, the United Nations International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) announced today.
Following a status conference this morning on
Mr. Milosevic's case, the Court said the trial would start on
12 February.
Yesterday, Mr. Milosevic appeared before the
Tribunal to hear new charges against him involving crimes allegedly
committed in Croatia.
Prosecutors are also preparing an indictment
for alleged crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Kosovo: head of UN mission optimistic about
joint declaration on Serb vote
30 October – Commenting on his talks
with the Government of Yugoslavia on ways of encouraging Kosovo
Serbs to vote in the upcoming elections, the head of the United
Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today
said he and Yugoslav President Kostunica thought they could find
areas of cooperation that would "meet the concerns of Kosovo
Serbs and improve their situation."
Today in Pristina, Hans Haekkerup briefed members of Kosovo's
Interim Administrative Council on his talks with Belgrade authorities
concerning the creation of a common document aimed at fostering
Kosovo Serb participation in the 17 November elections.
"The situation for Kosovo Serbs is not
easy, and we will try to find language to make it possible for
President Kostunica to support Kosovo Serb participation in the
elections," Mr. Haekkerup told the press after his meetings.
"None of what we do will be outside [Security Council resolution]
1244 or in contradiction of the Constitutional Framework. We think
we can find areas of cooperation."
The UNMIK chief added that time was running
out in terms of organizing elections for the internally displaced
persons outside of Kosovo.
Kosovo: UN mission chief to seek Yugoslavia's
support for Serb vote in elections
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| Mr.
Haekkerup at today's press conference |
25 October – Hans Haekkerup, the head of
the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
will visit Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica later this week
to seek his support for Kosovo Serb participation in the 17 November
elections.
Speaking to Kosovo's Interim Administrative Council, and later
to members of the press, Mr. Haekkerup said he would present President
Kostunica with a document that explains what the UN operation
has been doing and will do in the future to improve conditions
for Kosovo Serbs.
"There is strong international pressure
for Kosovo Serb participation, and we want to make it easier for
the authorities to support participation," he said.
Asked about reports in the Belgrade press about
President Kostunica's declaration prepared for possible endorsement
by the UNMIK chief during the visit, Mr. Haekkerup said he had
not seen the document.
"I will read it with interest, and if it
is within [UN Security Council resolution] 1244 and the Constitutional
Framework, we're ready to discuss practical cooperation,"
he said.
Kosovo: UN mission issues 1 millionth ID
card in preparation for elections
16 October – As part of the overall
effort to register Kosovars for elections, a top official of the
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in the territory
(UNMIK) today gave the one millionth identification card to a
Kosovo Serb, Bojan Nicic, at a ceremony in Gracanica.
Speaking at the event, UNMIK acting head Tom
Koenigs announced that a regulation would be issued soon making
registration compulsory for the people of Kosovo. In due course,
the UN Mission would start the process of registering people under
the age of 16 years, he said.
While registration did not mean that the people
had to participate in the elections, they had a "political
and democratic obligation" to vote, Mr. Koenigs said, adding
that it was not, however, "a legal obligation."
The acting chief also said that when the registration
exercise began, the UN Mission did not think it would be so "complicated
and time consuming." He congratulated both Kosovo Albanians
and Kosovo Serbs working in processing centres in Pristina and
Gracanica for the fine job they had done, and thanked the donors
who had financed the entire ID cards operation.
A senior official involved in the effort,
Margot Eelman, said processing centres were a good example of
team work, where people from all communities were working together
to establish a reliable civil registration database.
Security Council members call on Kosovo
Albanian leaders to support security efforts
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5 OCTOBER – After a briefing by the top
United Nations official in Kosovo on preparations for the 17 November
elections in the province, the Security Council today called on
Kosovo Albanian leaders to actively support efforts to promote
security and to combat extremism, including terrorist activities.
In a presidential statement delivered by the
Council President, Ambassador Richard Ryan of Ireland, the 15-member
body also called on all Kosovo leaders "to publicly condemn
violence and ethnic intolerance" and assume their responsibility
for ensuring that the campaign and the elections are "peaceful,
democratic and inclusive."
The Council commended the Yugoslav authorities,
particularly president Vojislav Kostunica, for their encouragement
of the Kosovo Serbs to register, and called on Belgrade to promote
the fullest possible participation in the vote.
In his briefing, Mr. Hans Haekkerup, the head
of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), told
Council members that more than 1.2 million people would be eligible
to vote at the elections leading to the creation of a Kosovo Assembly.
Some 83 per cent of them were Kosovo Albanian, 12 per cent Kosovo
Serbs, and the remainder Kosovo Bosniac, Gorani, Turk, Roma, Ashkali
and Egyptian. "All of Kosovo's communities are now in a position
to participate in the 2001 Assembly Election," Mr. Haekkerup
said.
He informed the Council that 26 political entities
had been certified to stand in the elections, including a Kosovo
Serb citizens' initiative, presenting "a genuine and critical
opportunity" for Kosovo Serbs to participate in the shaping
of Kosovo's future. Women should comprise more than 20 per cent
of the Assembly, due to requirements that a percentage of candidates
were women.
Election Day would be under "100 per cent
international supervision," Mr. Haekkerup said, with observers
from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
and the Council of Europe. In addition, more than 6,000 voters
were expected to be certified as domestic observers, including
representatives from a well-regarded Yugoslav non-governmental
organisation.
After the certification of the elections, the
Assembly would hold its inaugural session and elect the Assembly's
Presidency and the President of Kosovo. The President would then
appoint the Prime Minister, who would present a proposed list
of ministers to the Assembly for ratification. Ten ministries
would constitute the executive branch of the provisional self-government,
with one minister from the Kosovo Serb community and another from
other non-Albanian communities.
UNMIK was on the verge of moving into "a
determining phase of interim administration," Mr. Haekkerup
said, with its role moving from one of direct administrative responsibility
to one of oversight of self-government. The mission would transfer
many of its responsibilities to the provisional self-government
institution, but would continue to monitor and support these institutions
in their work, and its mandate would remain the same during all
stages of the transition.
Kofi Annan appeals for violence-free electoral
campaign in Kosovo
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4 OCTOBER – With the Kosovo-wide vote six
weeks away, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appealed to all communities
to participate peacefully in the United Nations-led election process.
"This is a defining moment for Kosovo, and I call on all
political leaders and representatives of civil society to ensure
that the upcoming election campaign is free of violence,"
Mr. Annan says in his quarterly report to the Security Council
on the activities of the UN Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo (UNMIK) released today at UN Headquarters. "It is
imperative that, on the eve of provisional self-government, all
Kosovo leaders understand that their responsibilities entail obligations
to all the people of Kosovo."
Mr. Annan says all minorities have a "crucial
obligation" to participate in the UNMIK-led election process
and in the 17 November vote. "It is imperative that all communities
participate in the elections and in the ensuing institutions of
provisional self-government if they wish to have a say in the
daily running of their own affairs."
The Secretary-General commends the Yugoslav
authorities, and particularly President Vojislav Kostunica, for
their encouragement to the Kosovo Serb community to register,
resulting in a "significant number" of registrations.
He also lauds UNMIK's efforts to encourage minorities to participate
in public life.
In addition to preparing for the November election,
UNMIK has been focusing on accelerating the transfer of authority
to municipalities, helping build institutions at the central level
and working to create a solid economic basis. A crucial priority
is to lay the financial groundwork for the upcoming provisional
self-government to begin economic management with a balanced budget,
Mr. Annan writes.
Continuing inter-ethnic violence and criminal
activity remain a major concern, Mr. Annan says. However, despite
some difficulties, UNMIK has made significant strides in strengthening
security and law and order - by establishing a new police and
justice pillar to coordinate international and local judges and
police officers, draft anti-terrorism legislation and carry out
anti-crime and border security operations.
Top UN official in Kosovo addresses last
meeting of transitional council
2 OCTOBER – Opening the final session of
the Kosovo Transitional Council, the top United Nations official
in the province said today that the Council's members had contributed
to changing Kosovo into a more democratic place, and that a form
of dialogue had been carried on in that body since its formation.
Hans Haekkerup, the head of the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), told Council members that the future of Kosovo
and international support for the province depended on the security
situation. "I appeal to all of you to make Kosovo a violence-free
society," he said, stressing that the success of the elections
depended on a violence-free atmosphere.
The Council was holding its last meeting on
the eve of the start of the electoral campaign for the 17 November
elections. At a joint special session with the Interim Administration
Council, security and justice issues were discussed, UNMIK said.
The electoral campaign will be launched tomorrow
by Mr. Haekkerup and the head of the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Daan Everts. According to UNMIK,
Kosovo's 20 administrative departments will be clustered into
nine transitional administrative departments, which will be in
place until the new ministries are formed. International officers
will run these transitional departments until the new ministers
are appointed. All Kosovo co-heads will go on leave from 3 October.
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